Brett Nash sentenced for plotting to kidnap lawyer

GRANITE CITY, Ill. (KSDK) - A Granite City, Ill. man was sentenced Thursday to prison time for plotting to kidnap a lawyer and steal money from him.

Brett Nash, 46, will spend 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to solicitation of a crime of violence in December 2012.

Court documents state in late 2011 and January 2012 Nash asked his wife and another person to help him abduct a Granite City lawyer to obtain money from him.

At the sentencing hearing Thursday, Nash said he did not intend to murder the lawyer. In response, the prosecution played recorded conversations between Nash and his wife and Nash and the third party that led the judge to conclude Nash's intention to murder the victim was clear.

"This was a harsh, but fair and deserved sentence for what could only be described as a crime involving bizarre circumstances and extreme violence." said United States Attorney Wigginton.

Nash indicated in the recordings he wanted his wife to lure the lawyer from his home so he and the third person could seize the victim and take him back to his home, place fake explosives on him, and take him to the bank to withdraw all of his money. Nash was going to threaten the victim with detonation of the explosive if the he did not cooperate.

The recordings also indicated the initial plan was to electrocute the lawyer by placing him in a hot tub and throwing in a radio. A cat would then be thrown into the hot tub to make it look like that cat knocked the radio into the water.

On the day Nash was arrested, a recording indicated he told the third person he wanted two guns for the robbery. Nash said the caliber didn't matter because the lawyer was going "to commit suicide."

In one of the recordings, Nash was heard saying, "Dead men don't talk."

In addition to prison time, Nash will also serve three years of supervised release, ordered to pay a $500 fine, and a $100 special assessment.